Puffy Forever
by DragonShadow
Summary: Something is wrong with Yumi, something that could mean the end of Puffy AmiYumi. But they discover that their bond goes far deeper than their music.


Puffy Forever

"Rolling, rolling, on the bus goes. Where it stops, nobody knows!" Ami shouted excitedly as she leaned over the back of the driver's side seat, looking out the windows as the bus rolled on through the night. The desert was quiet and dark, with the van's headlights their only guide through this strange place. The moon was shining high in the desert nigh sky, giving the sandy plains a pale sheen.

"We're going to a small town called Eriso, actually." Yumi said from the passenger's seat, leaning back boredly with her eyes half-closed. "How do you do it Ami?"

"Do what?" Ami asked confusedly.

"Keep up all that pep and energy?" Yumi replied. "We've been at this so long... doesn't it sometimes feel like a pointless cycle of moving and playing and moving and playing and moving and playing?"

"Well, sure it can get repetitive, but a job well-done is always an accomplishment, no matter how many times you do it." Ami answered. "And if we can keep it going this long, we've got to be really accomplishing something."

"Yeah, yeah..." Yumi yawned and slid off the seat, scratching the back of her neck. "I guess I'm just tired. I'm gonna hit the sack and rest up for our gig in the morning."

"Alright... sweet dreams Yumi." Ami smiled and waved sweetly as Yumi made her way into the back toward the bedrooms. Once she was gone Ami slipped between the seats and sat down in the passenger's seat, a worried look on her face. "Do you think she's alright Kaz? She's not acting like herself at all."

"Huh?" Kaz blinked and shot upright. "Yes, we should be there by morning."

"Kaz!" Ami stared at him, shocked. "You'd fall asleep behind the wheel, putting us all in danger?"

"I wasn't asleep! I was counting the billions of dollars I won in the lottery." Kaz huffed, insulted.

"Riiiight..." Ami smirked. "Just a second." She scrambled into the back of the bus for a few minutes, then came back and pug a mug of coffee in the cup holder beside the steering wheel. "Now keep your eyes on the road, okay? We don't need to be exploding right in the middle of our hot-streak."

"Ah, arigato." Kaz took the mug from the holder and took a few sips, smacking his lips with one hand still on the wheel. "Anyway, were you saying something?"

"I'm worried about Yumi." Ami repeated. "She's not acting like herself. She seems really depressed for some reason."

"She probably has diarrhea. I know those all-you-can-eat Sushi bars do me in." Kaz quipped.

"Yeah, I know, as scary as that is." Ami sighed and stood up. "Nevermind, I don't know why I talk to you."

"Because it's part of your contract." Kaz reminded her quickly. Ami smirked slightly. She had to hand it to him. He couldn't match up two colors to make his socks match without help, but he could recite a legal document as well as most people could recite their own name. That was what made him such a good manager. Despite his absent-minded childlike attitude, Puffy AmiYumi had made a good living for themselves and generally wanted for little. Though the dream of superstardom still seemed far off.

"Yeah..." Ami smiled genuinely. "That's why. Goodnight Kaz."

"Goodnight, Ami-Chan." Kaz waved idly over his shoulder and Ami turned to head into the back, through the rather large tour bus to make her way into her bedroom. With a sigh she kicked off her white boots and approached her bed, sitting on the edge. She glanced over at the picture on her nightstand, where Yumi's bright, cocky smile shined back at her.

"Maybe she's just carsick from being on the road too long... I'm sure she'll buck up once we get a guitar in her hands tomorrow." Comforted by this thought, Ami slipped into her pink nightgown, pulled herself into bed, and covered herself with the comfortably thick sheets to settle in for the night. The rocking of the bus as it moved on its way was distracting at first, but by now it had become an important part of home, and it lulled her right to sleep.

The next morning she emerged to find Yumi already up, having breakfast at their table by the window. The van had come to a stop in the night, and was parked around back of a moderately sized stadium, where Puffy AmiYumi would play later on. For now though, Yumi remained in her blue and black nightgown, shoveling bits of cereal into her mouth with a sleepy, bored expression on her face. She didn't see Kaz anywhere. He was probably asleep after driving through the night.

Ami moved to sit down on the other side of the table, smiling pleasantly. Good morning Yumi. How are you feeling?"

"Great. Never better." Yumi replied unenthusiastically, a spoonful of cereal hitting her chin as she spoke. A marshmallow stuck there and milk dribbled to the table, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Uh... that's good." Ami forced a smile. "I was thinking, we haven't gotten in enough practice lately. We should really warm up a bit before tonight's show, don't you think?"

"Sure." Yumi replied with, if possible, less enthusiasm than before.

"And... and maybe we can take in some of the sights while we're here?" Ami suggested, desperate to get a reaction out of her good friend. "I hear there's this place down the street that serves delicacies from all around the world."

"Sounds good." Yumi grunted.

"Yumi..." Ami sighed slightly and stood up. "I'm gonna go out for some breakfast."

"Kay." Yumi waved absently as Ami went into the back to don her normal dress before leaving the bus, heading down the sidewalk toward a nearby restaurant. She looked worse than before, and now that Ami thought about it, she was pretty sure this been building for a while. Her comments last night just called attention to it. Oh, what could be wrong with her dear friend? They were living their dreams, how could she not be happy?

She spent the morning eating alone at a restaurant and wandering around town as if searching for answers before returning to the bus a few hours before they were scheduled to play. Yumi was in the practice room strumming and tuning her guitar. She looked better than she had before. Maybe she just needed some time alone.

"Konichiwa Yumi." Ami smiled as she moved into the room.

"Hey, you've been gone a while." Yumi noted.

"Yeah well, I just wanted to see some of the sights." Ami replied.

"Which ones?" Yumi asked.

"The... uh... park..." Ami stumbled, not really knowing of any. "You know, with the statue... of the person... with the thing... wearing the clothes?"

"Uh... yeah. That sure is an attractive sight." Yumi smirked, looking more like her old self with each moment.

"Yeah, it was great." Ami smiled and moved over to her drums, picking up her drumsticks and sitting behind them. "Should we get in a few practice jams before our gig then?"

"Sure." Yumi grabbed one of her picks and plugged in her guitar. Their jam session lasted several hours, with Ami keeping a careful eye on her friend and band mate. She didn't notice anything overtly wrong with Yumi, but there was a certain something missing from her step, and she occasionally fell out of time with Ami's drums, but quickly caught herself.

When they finished practicing their cover song they stopped playing. Ami was already a bit winded, but felt ready for their gig that night. Yumi looked back at her with that pleasantly familiar cocky smile on her face. "We ready to go rock this joint, Ami?"

"Hehe! Yeah!" Ami exclaimed happily. For the next while they helped the staff of the stadium load their musical equipment onto the stage, setting everything up just right. Kaz dealt with the stadium executives while Ami and Yumi supervised and helped with the stage setup. Ami grabbed one of her drumsticks and banged each drum in turn, making sure they were all in the right places.

She glanced over to see Yumi hitting a few test chords on her guitar, retuning a little until it was perfect, at which time she set it aside, her shoulders slumped a bit. Ami watched her for a moment, then slipped out from behind the drums and walked up to her. "Yumi, can I give you something?"

"Give me? What?" Yumi asked.

"Here." Ami reached down and pulled off her pink-marble bracelet, reaching up to slide it onto Yumi's wrist. Yumi looked down at it in confusion, then looked up at Ami with a confused expression. "Go ahead, keep it. Consider it a gift of friendship." Yumi stared at her a moment, then nodded and looked down, snatching up her guitar and strumming a few chords. She pretended to tune it, but Ami knew it was already tuned.

Taking the hint, Ami walked back to her drums and perched comfortably on the seat, taking her drumsticks in her hands. Yumi assumed her position beside the drums, the guitar strap over her shoulder until all preparations were complete, and the curtain raised to reveal a crowd of people all ready and waiting. Ami raised her sticks as the crowd burst into cheers and applause, the old rush running through her body as the sticks twirled through her fingers.

Yumi grinned her cocky grin and raised her fist in the air. "You all ready to rock Puffy style?" The crowd responded with a loud roar, in the middle of which Yumi struck the first chord of their song hard, launching the duo into a stream of songs, some hard, some soft. The show was going wonderfully, with the duo playing together with the ease of long practice, the roar and energy of the crowd pushing Ami to play far beyond her physical limitations would otherwise allow.

Suddenly, everything seemed to stop. Only the beating of her drums could be heard until she too came to a stop, seeing the crowd grown silent staring up on the stage. Ami looked over to see Yumi standing on the stage, panting heavily and clutching her guitar like a life preserver.

"Yumi?" Ami asked worriedly. "Yumi? Are you okay?" Yumi looked over at him, then out at the crowd again. Slowly she pulled the guitar strap from around her shoulders, carefully placed the guitar on its stand on the side of the stage, and left, leaving Ami sitting behind her drums alone, looking out at the equally stunned crowd that had come to see the duo play.

"Uh..." Ami stammered for a moment, then moved out from behind her drums. "Puffy AmiYumi needs a short potty break I think, but don't worry, we will return in thirty minutes!" She pumped her fist into the air, then quickly darted off the stage, pushing past the stagehands and managers who were milling about in confusion. She ran headlong into Kaz after a few moments. "Where is she?"

"She just went back to the bus." Kaz looked more upset than she'd ever seen him. "She wouldn't listen to me, maybe you can talk some sense into her. If you two don't finish this show, we have to give back a refund, and this whole trip will be a waste!" He complained.

"Don't worry, I'll get her back onstage somehow." Ami pushed past him and ran to the back of the stadium, running to their tour bus to push her way inside. She moved toward the back and found Yumi lounging in one of the recliners, her body limp and her eyes half-closed. "Yumi? What's going on?"

"I can't do it anymore, Ami..." Yumi replied softly.

"What? Do what?" Ami asked.

"This, all of it." Yumi heaved a sigh. "I got nothing left. I don't feel the music anymore, I'm just... just burnt out." She pushed herself up from the chair and turned away from her, walking over to the practice instruments they kept on the tour buss. She picked up her practice guitar and plucked a few strings, making a strange twang sound. "Stick a fork in me, I'm done."

"Yumi... how long have you felt this way?" Ami asked anxiously. "You should've told me, I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do anymore." Ami approached her from behind, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "And if you don't do it anymore, I won't do it anymore." Yumi looked back at her over her shoulder. "I can't do this without you."

"That's why I didn't say anything. I knew you'd say that, and just because my fire's gone out doesn't mean I have to rain on yours." Yumi said. "You deserve to be a rock star Ami, don't let me get in your way."

"You... you kept it up for me?" Ami felt a lump forming in her throat, and suddenly she could no longer contain herself. She flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around Yumi's torso from behind and resting her cheek against her back. Yumi gasped slightly, then blushed and lifted her hands to Ami's arms. "When we started playing music, we swore we would make it to the top together or find a nice alley to live in together, do you remember that?"

"Yeah." Yumi nodded. "But if we quit now, your dream would be dashed."

"But if we went on, how long could we last if we're both not really in it, heart, mind, body, and soul?" Ami replied. Yumi had no answer for that one, remaining silent. Ami stood up strait, her arms locked around Yumi's torso. She leaned forward to rest her chin on Yumi's shoulder, looking sideling at her face. "It's up to you Yumi... they expect us back onstage in thirty minutes. If you want to continue... come find me before then. If not... stay here and we'll go back home together. Okay?"

Yumi nodded, and Ami released her, letting her hands slide out from around her torso before turning to leave the buss, leaving Yumi standing alone in the middle of what had been more of a home to her than her real home for a long time. All the long nights, all the fun times and successful gigs. It all felt hollow to her now, like all the fire had been sucked out of it. The excitement, the thrill was all gone.

Still, could she give up on her life just because she was a bit depressed? She approached the window, these questions rocketing around her mind, threatening to drive her mad. She didn't want to leave Ami, and she didn't want Ami's dream to die. She wanted the best for Ami, even more than she wanted the best for herself. She always had really, she would do anything for the girl.

She leaned her head on the warm glass of the bus, staring numbly out into the night. What could she do now?

Ami walked away from the bus, hugging herself even though it was a rather warm evening out. She made her way away from both the bus and the stadium, trekking toward the desert, shining once again in the pale moonlight that shone down from the heavens. Her yellow and pink dress seemed dull in comparison, lost in the glow of the desert as she made it to the top of a hill, able to look back at the stadium on one side and out across the sand on the other.

It seemed like she and Yumi had been together forever. And as far as she could remember, they just might have been. The idea that Yumi was burnt out, no longer a part of this group... it made her heart ache. It seemed so stupid even to think something like that, but it was all she could come up with to describe this sensation. It was like being abandoned by the only person she'd ever trusted with her life, perhaps even more.

Yumi blinked against the moonlight, seeing a shape standing on the hill between the stadium and the desert. A familiar dress was waving in the wind, while a pair of pigtails gently bobbed up and down, as if waving for Yumi to come and join her. She really wanted to... she didn't want Ami to look so sad and lonely. She didn't care about the music anymore, she didn't care about the fans... she just wanted to be there with Ami now and forever.

What did that mean? Just what did she feel for Ami? They'd always been best friends and awesome band mates, but now this felt completely different. Like it had evolved past the schoolyard, past the music... but what could it have evolved into? Deep in her heart she was sure she knew the answer to this question even before she thought it. Maybe she could do this... not for the music, or for the fans. There was only one thing that could give her the old thrill back now. Her mind was made up.

Ami took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She didn't want to break down, she didn't want to cry over this. Yumi still had ten minutes to come find her before Puffy AmiYumi was officially no more. Despite her best efforts, she felt the tears coming regardless. She stopped trying to fight them, clasping her hands behind her back and letting them fall to the sand at her feet. Nine minutes now... nine minutes before it was all over.

A soft sound from behind made Ami turn around, seeing Yumi's thick black boots tromping over the sand as she made her way up the hill. Ami sniffled and turned back to her, a bit astonished that this was really happening. Yumi eventually reached the top of the hill with that crooked smile of hers, reaching up to wipe away Ami's tears with one of her thumbs. Ami stared at her, her eyes still moist until she felt Yumi pulling her closer into an embrace. Ami didn't want to fight it, letting Yumi's lips lean in and press against her own.

The kiss seemed to last forever, time standing still as Yumi's lips pressed against Ami's, her strong commanding hands gripping her shoulders. Ami melted into it, submitting to it, as if some piece of her heart would reach out and physically connect with Yumi's. Her mind felt like it was on fire, her body very aware of the gentle desert wind that blew her skirt up against Yumi's legs. At last, the kiss faded and Ami opened her eyes to look into Yumi's, which were unusually gentle.

"What does this mean?" Ami asked softly, her mind reeling from what had just happened.

"It means we have rocking to do. Together." Yumi took one of her hands and held it tightly. For a moment Ami couldn't remember what she was talking about, then realized the audience was still waiting for Puffy to return. "Come on. Quick." Yumi yanked her along, rushing back toward the stadium. Ami ran alongside her, her heart pounding like a jackhammer.

As they neared the backstage they could hear Kaz and the stadium staff mumbling among themselves, while the crowd out in the seats grew increasingly restless. Yumi barreled past Kaz and the other managers, weaving through the various technicians and coordinators, leaping over several chairs on her way. Ami trailed right behind her, right up until they burst back out into the stage.

Yumi fell to her knees, sliding across the stage to the guitar stand, where she slapped the neck, flipping it into the air, and then caught it in one hand. "Let's do this!" She screamed, slamming on a couple of power chords before Ami could get seated back behind her drums. The restless jeers instantly turned to thrilled cheers as Puffy AmiYumi put on one of the best shows of their entire career, putting out all the energy they had, including some they never had known before.

After the show Ami and Yumi left the stage, the roaring applause of thrilled fans floating after them as they made their way through the back of the stadium. Yumi carelessly slung one arm around Ami's shoulders, leaning against her with a tired smile on her face. Ami smiled and put one arm around Yumi's waist.

"Does this mean we're still a band?" Ami asked.

"Yes, Ami... we're still a band." Yumi replied, giving her shoulders a squeeze. They left the stadium, making their way back to their tour bus. They were both exhausted after the gig, but neither of them felt really bad. "And if I have anything to say about it, we'll be together for the rest of our lives." Ami gave her a gentle look, a brilliant smile lightning up her perky features.

"I would love that." Ami said as they reached the bus. Yumi reached up to pull the door open, allowing Ami to climb into the bus before Yumi stepped in after her, pulling the door firmly closed behind them.

THE END 


End file.
